The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was given the green light by North Carolina authorities to officially start taking sports bets. Senate Bill 154 was signed into law by Governor Roy Cooper. The bill redefines the meaning of Class III gaming in North Carolina, expanding it to include legal sports betting.
The Tarheel State now allows sports betting at the two tribal casinos located in its southwestern region – Harrah’s Cherokee and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River casino resorts. Both resorts are operated by Caesars.
The new law does not allow mobile or online betting. Players will need to travel to one of the Harrah’s properties (located 55 miles from one another but far from the metropolis of Charlotte and Raleigh), to place a bet.
Under tribal compacts with North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee give the state 5% of their table game gross gaming revenue. Revenue from sports betting will now also be included. The state believes that it will see a little bit less than $1 million a year from both casinos.
“This is an exciting time for Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos,” noted casino officials “We are encouraged by the news and thrilled to be one step closer to offering this new opportunity to our guests and sports fans.”
The Governor’s signature made North Carolina the seventh state this year to pass some sort of sports betting bill.
Since it has already been decided who will run the sports betting, no licenses need to be applied for and granted – making the entire process painless.
Analysts believe, however, that sports betting in North Carolina will be incomplete until the state allows mobile and online betting. One only needs to look at successful sports betting states such as New Jersey to understand the importance of mobile betting to revenue. As much as 80% of all sports betting in the Garden State is done via mobile devices or computers.
